That Night On MirkWood
by salavibes
Summary: Eleven has returned to Hawkins. However, She has come back only to keep her friends safe from the great unknown. Can she juggle that responsibility on top of her desire for a normal life? What will happen? Check it out! a lot of Mileven fluffiness
1. Chapter 1

Heavy rain beat down on the street of Mirkwood, as lamp posts lit the town. Hopper laid on his couch dozing off to the sound of a static radio and the constant rainfall. It had been a successful year for Hopper. After he helped Joyce find her son, he became known as the town hero and was now solving more new cases involving Hawkins Lab. Aside from receiving the town's attention, he also captured Joyce's. They started dating a month ago and everything finally started falling into place.

WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.

Hopper quickly jumped to his feet grabbing his gun that was nearby. He slowly made his way to door, and looked out of the peephole.

"It can't… No. It can't be.."

He opened the door to see a young girl standing there, Her pink dress drenched from the pouring rain. She stared blankly at him until she noticed the gun in his hand. She then began to back away cautiously, shaking her head.

"Wait. It's okay, You're safe here" He reassured her, placing his gun into his holster.

He then opened his hands to show her that he was no longer carrying a weapon.

"Come on in. You need to get out of that cold rain" He motioned.

She smiled slightly and proceeded to walk in.

"First things, first, we need to get you out of that soaked dress."

Hopper scratched his chin "Hmm. Well I don't think I have any clothes that are your size.."

He rummaged through his drawers looking for anything that could possibly fit her. That's when he spotted an old box in the corner of his room. This box was marked SARAH and he hadn't touched it in years. He brushed the dust off it and carefully opened it. He picked up a sweater and the matching pair of pants. A single tear fell but he quickly wiped his eye and ran back to where the girl was sitting.

Hopper handed her the clothes "Here. I found you something"

The young girl eyed the clothes curiously as she remembered that it wasn't acceptable to change in front of other people.

"Bathroom?" she finally managed to utter

He pointed down the hallway "It's over there"

After she changed and was settled, Hopper then began to bombard her with questions.

"Where did you come from?"

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

She analyzed the worry lines on his forehead. She could definitely tell he was stressed out but there was just so much that she couldn't tell him. It was best to keep him safe, even though she knew the answers to his questions, she would have to keep it to herself.

"Do you have eggos?"

"Oh yes food! You must be starving! Wow okay let me see if I have anything" he frantically searched through his cabinets and refrigerator.

"Sorry kid no eggos, but I can make you a turkey sandwich"

He handed her the turkey sandwich and watched her devour it quickly

"Long time no see Eleven, wish you could tell me what happened and where you've been"

She avoided his gaze and looked down at the ground "Can't"

"Alright, fair enough for now. You should probably get some rest though. You can sleep on the couch for tonight" He said handing her some blankets.

He then began walking to his room

"Wait."

He turned around quickly "Yes?"

"Mike. need to see Mike"

"Oh you're talking about that Wheeler kid? Yeah, we can see him tomorrow if you want" He replied rubbing his eyes. "But time to get some sleep it's like 3 in the morning"

El grabbed the blanket and held it close as she smiled. It had been a full year since she saw Mike and the gang. She missed her friends and couldn't wait to catch up with them. Her smile soon fell though as she remembered why she came back to Hawkins in the first place. She was there on a mission. She had to keep everyone safe.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mike!"

"Mike!"

"Michael!"

"Okay okay, I'm coming! geez"

He ran down the stairs to see everyone sitting at the table

"I made blueberry pancakes sweetie, come have a seat" motioned Karen Wheeler

He sat down in between his older sister Nancy and baby sister Holly as a small stack of pancakes were placed before him.

Their dad looked over his newspaper only to make eye contact "Hey kids, you know Chief Hopper wants to see you two today"

Nancy eyed him curiously "um, do you know why?"

"I don't know, but he called earlier and it sounded pretty urgent" Ted shrugged

"He wants to see me too?" Michael asked with a mouthful of pancake "because usually Nance is the one getting in trouble with the cops"

Nancy kicked him swiftly underneath the table "Shut up.."

He looked at her with a smile and she smiled back. They had been through alot together which had actually brought them closer in a way. Before everything happened they could barely stand being in the same room as each other. It was different now, even though they playfully teased each other, they both had a mutual respect for one another after what happened last year.

Once breakfast ended,

Nancy grabbed her coat "Hey dork, you better hurry up if you want a ride to the station"

"Go ahead, I'll meet you there" Mike smiled

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I got to do something real quick" Michael said running towards the basement door.

As he reached the basement he grabbed up his supercomm

"Lucas. You there?"

"Yeah, What's up?"

"Have you heard anything from the chief?"

"Actually yeah.. My mom said that he asked to see me"

"Weird, He asked to see me too."

Lucas laughed "You didn't do anything stupid right Mike?"

"What? No! Did you?"

"Nope, I haven't spoken to the chief since we found Will"

"Yeah, same. I wonder what he wants"

"Who knows. I'm gonna call Dustin and Will though to see if the chief reached out to them too."

"Okay, talk to you later. over and out"

Will didn't have a clue on why the Chief wanted to see them. Did something happen? Was someone in trouble? What was going on? his thoughts were soon interrupted as he passed the old fort. He had initially made this fort for Eleven to sleep in when she hid away in his house but he just never took it down. He held onto the hope that she'd eventually return.

He stared at the fort for awhile, drifting back to the memories of last year. She was the strangest girl he had ever met but there was something different about her, there was something special. Ever since the day he first met her it's like they had a certain connection. He saw beyond what everyone else saw. He didn't see her as a freak nor a psycho. He saw her for who she was. He saw a vulnerable girl. A loyal girl. A beautiful girl. A girl who just wanted normality. A girl who sacrificed herself for friendship. He saw the real El.

Mike checked his watch "Crap! I need to get going!"

Grabbing his bike, he rode down the street to the meet up with everyone at the police station.


	3. Chapter 3

As Mike laid his bike down near the station's entrance, he noticed that aside from Lucas's, Will and Dustin's bike was also there

"Wow, I guess he wanted to meet up with everyone then" Mike thought to himself

When he walked inside all he could hear was a loud commotion coming from the chief's office

Nancy put her hand to her mouth "No way!"

Lucas jumped in "You're here? You're actually here?"

"I can't believe it" Dustin stared in disbelief

Will smiled "So this must finally be her"

As Mike walked towards the office he couldn't quite make out what was going on. Everyone's words were running together and all he saw were his friends crowded around and freaking out about something.

Dustin looked at Lucas "Mike is gonna love this!"

Mike finally stepped into the cramped office "I'm gonna love wha-"

That's when he saw her. She was wearing a green sweater and her hair had grown longer, that it now fell right below her ears. Eleven was standing right in front of him. His eyes grew wide at the sight of her and he couldn't seem to form words as his mouth hung in total shock.

She just smiled at him "Mike!" she yelled

They ran up to each other with arms wide open

As he hugged her, he wish he could've stayed in that moment forever. She felt so warm in his arms and her smile seemed to light up the room.

"I.. I.. I'm so happy you're back! I've missed you!.. I mean uh we've missed you!" Mike stuttered

"Nice save, lover boy" Dustin laughed

Mike elbowed him in the stomach

"Alright, alright kids, settle down" Hopper called out "So now that Eleven is back, I need you guys to show her the ropes around town, ya know, help her to fit in"

El looked at everyone oddly "What is fit in?"

Hopper rubbed his temples "And there goes your first example.. Ya'll teach her the lingo so she can blend in as much as possible"

"Ooh ooh I'll teach her all about dungeons and dragons!" Dustin interjected

"I got her covered on how to be cool" Lucas smirked

"Since when are you cool?"

"Shut up Dustin, I'm cooler than you, Will, and Mike put together!"

"Oh reallyyy" Mike and Will replied in unison

Eleven watched the boys banter and grew excited about the thought of being around for awhile. She would get to learn so much and had such great friends to teach her about finally living a normal life. She then looked over at Mike. His brown eyes seemed to dance and she couldn't help but notice how happy he was. Wait. She was getting carried away.. She had to focus on why she was here. She was here to help them and nothing more. She was there to guard their happiness, even if it meant risking her own.

She suddenly felt a gentle warm touch on her arm "El, if you need some place to stay.. well, you can always stay at my house. I still have that blanket fort I made you, remember that?"

She nodded eagerly "Yes"

Nancy held up her hand "Waitttt a minute.. Mom won't let you have a girl stay over at our house"

"I'm sure I can convince her though"

"You know her rules.. She's not gonna go for it"

"Didn't stop you with Steve.." he mumbled

"Enough you two. Mike, El is gonna stay at my place for now. I have an extra room that she can use and everything. However, Nancy.. I'm gonna need you to come over from time to time to teach El all about girl stuff, because that's definitely way out of my department."

"No worries, I've got you covered chief" Nancy grinned

Even though Mike was slightly disappointed that Eleven wouldn't be staying at his house he was just glad to know she'd be staying nearby. He couldn't help but get a warm fuzzy feeling every time he looked at her. He thought he'd lost her forever when she disappeared along with the demogorgon, but here she was standing right beside him. Maybe she felt the same way about him, maybe he would get to take her to SnowBall this year.. And maybe, just maybe, they'd grow to become more than just friends.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, can El come out and hang?" The boys had just gotten out of school and wanted to see if she could come with them to the Hawkins Annual Fair.

"I guess she could use a break, she's done good so far. Let me go get her real quick" Hopper was proud of El. He hired a private tutor for her, and she was catching on so fast. If she kept it up he knew it wouldn't be long before she could be enrolled in school.

"Okay you got this, just start from line one again and it read it slowly" Ms. Clement pointed to the line in the book.

"The p-p-rince ki-s-s-sed c-c-in-d-der-ella and they lived h-h-a-ppily ever after." Eleven stuttered

"Good Job El! That was awesome!"

"Miss Clement?"

"Yes El?"

She pointed to the sentence "What does that mean?"

"Well when the Prince finally found Cinderella, he wanted to always be with her and she wanted to always be with him. They made each other so happy that's why they call it their happily ever after"

Eleven quickly thought about Mike. He was the only one that could make her feel all tingly inside with happiness. He had found her just like the prince found cinderella on that dark and rainy day. So maybe they could have a happily ever after too?

Hopper cut into her thoughts "El! Your friends are outside waiting on ya, so how bout you finish this up tomorrow, go have some fun kid"

El nodded eagerly and ran to the front door

"Hi El! You wanna go to the fair with us!" Mike asked excitedly

She looked at Mike with an eyebrow lifted "Whats a fair?"

"It has a bunch of fun rides!" Lucas chimed in

Dustin also interjected "Ooh Oooh and a bunch of yummy food like funnel cake and cotton candy!"

"Yeah it's great, We go every year!" Will added

Whatever this fair was it sure sounded like a fun time. She couldn't wait to go and see what it was all about

She jumped onto Mike's bike and held onto his shoulders as he and the boys quickly rode off. She loved riding with Mike. For some reason being so close to him made her feel that tingly feeling in the pit of stomach and he always made her feel safe.

As they approached the fair. El's eyes grew wide. The fair was huge! The music, the laughter and the lights just made everything seem so inviting.

Mike noticed the expression on El's face "Yeah it's really cool, huh?"

"Yeah really cool" She replied staring wide-eyed at everything around her

Will grabbed Mike and El by the arm "Come on guys, we gotta get in line before the tickets get sold out!"

"Can you guys save our place in line, Lucas and I are gonna grab some hotdogs" said Dustin as they headed towards the concessions

Will shook his head "Wow they just ate and they're already hungry again"

El observed Will for the first time since they officially met. He was smaller than the rest of the boys and more quiet. She noticed that the boys never mentioned the upside down around him and Mike explained to her that it was because it would upset him. She knew that he had seen things that only he and her would understand and she wanted to discuss it with him. Even though Will acted like everything was okay, she could tell something wasn't quite right.. But now wasn't the time or the place.. She just wanted to try to have fun.

"Mike that looks fun" El pointed into the distance

"You're talking about the Ferris Wheel, We can go on it if you want" he smiled

"You two can go on that.. But I'm going on that one!" Will pointed to the flamethrower. The flamethrower was one of the fastest rollercoasters there.

Once the boys grabbed their tickets they were anxious to get on the rides

"What about El though? Don't you guys think that would be a lil too much for her first ride?"

Lucas was agitated "Okay then. You can stay with El and we'll ride the flamethrower, since you always wanna be around her anyways.."

"It's not like that."

"Oh yes it is" The boys chorused

"Alright whatever, you guys just go ahead" He marched away with El trailing behind him

"Ugh he always wants to be with her. What about El you guys? El can't ride that. El. El. El." mocked Lucas in a high pitched voice

Dustin put his hand on his shoulder. "Hate to break it to ya buddy, but Mike has officially been abuducted by the girl species."

Lucas snided "I bet she used her powers on him"

"Mike. Mike. you okay?" El questioned

"Yeah, I'm fine. They'll be okay without me, but anyways what do you wanna do first?"

She looked over at the man working the concessions, he was spinning a pink cloud like thing, and she couldn't help but be fascinated

Mike noticed this and smiled "You want to get some cotton candy?"

"Cotton Candy?"

"Yeah it's what that guy is spinning over there. It's really good!"

As Mike payed for the cotton candy he handed one to El

"Pink one for you and a blue one for me"

She pressed the cotton candy against her face. It was so soft and fluffy and it for some reason it smelled really good.

Mike laughed "You're supposed to eat it El, like this" he said biting a piece

As she ate a piece of the candy her eyes grew big

"It disappeared!" She yelled eating more

"Haha Yeah it kinda melts in your mouth"

"Mike. are you happy?"

This question has been bothering her all night. She wanted to see if he was happy like the Prince in the story. El wanted him to happy around her so eventually they could have a happily ever after.

"I'm very happy, why do you ask?"

El looked down at her feet. She wanted to tell him why she asked but the words just wouldn't come to her. She felt a knot in her throat and quickly changed the subject

"What's that?" El said running off

Mike was happy being with El. She made him the happiest he had been in awhile. He loved showing her new things and being a part of it as she was learning about the world. He couldn't help but think about the kiss they shared that day in the gym. Everything just seemed so perfect at that moment and he wondered what she thought about it. Maybe she didn't even like it. Maybe she only liked him as a friend. He had to know though.

"Step right up! Knock the bottle over and win a prize!"

El looked over at the game. The man said she could win a prize for knocking over that bottle? well that seemed easy enough

Mike caught up with her "You wanna play? These games are usually rigged but you can give it a try anyways"

"Alright young lady let's see what ya got!" the man said handing El a baseball "You have 3 tries"

"Just throw the ball at the bottle, you got this" Mike reassured her

She threw it but she fell short and missed the bottle completely. She then tried again, but this time she threw it over the bottle.

"You try." she said giving the ball to Mike

"Uh alright, but for the record I'm kinda bad at throwing.."

Mike looked at the bottle intently. He really wanted to impress El and win her a nice prize.

"Okay Mike you can do this. Steady. Steady." He thought as he released the ball.

He hit the side of the bottle and it started rocking back and forth slowly.

"Come on. Fall over already"

The bottle seemed as though it was taking forever as it continued to move around. Suddenly it fell over.

Mike jumped up and down "What! I won! I actually won!"

El smiled widely. She had knocked over the bottle using her powers but she loved seeing how excited Mike was so she kept that little secret to herself.

Mike chose a giant teddy bear for the prize and gave it to her.

"For me? But.. I didn't win"

"I want you to have it though.. So, I guess.. You can always um.. remember this day.."

Remember? How could she ever forget. This day would definitely be something she would keep with her forever.

She gave Mike a hug "Thank you"

Mike blushed "uhh um.. So did you still wanna ride the ferris wheel?"

She looked over at the giant ferris wheel with it's flashing blue lights and couldn't wait to go on it

She nodded at Mike as she grabbed his hand and ran over to the ride


	5. Chapter 5

**So this just got intense. If anybody wants to message me or leave me reviews on how things should continue with this, I'm definitely open for suggestions. Hope you guys like what I got so far though!"**

* * *

From the top of the ferris wheel the view was fantastic. They could see the fair in all its entirety. The sky-high perspective of the tiny people and the glowing lights was simply breathtaking.

She was entranced by it all, the view, the moment, and Mike.

"Do.. I make you happy?"

He smiled at her as he noticed her brown eyes glimmering underneath the lights.

He then looked down, blushing he replied "El, you.. well.. you make me the happiest I've ever been"

"Promise?"

"Yes of course. But El?"

She turned to him

"What's with the questions today? Is there something you want to talk about?"

She grew kind of nervous and she didn't know why. Her hands were becoming clammy and her heart started beating faster. Out of everyone, only Mike could make her feel this way.

"We could have happily ever after"

He pondered on what she said because he didn't quite grasp it at first. "You mean like the fairytales?"

She nodded

Suddenly it clicked with Mike. She was happy with him and she wanted to make sure he was happy with her too. A rush of feelings suddenly overcame him and It was like she was a magnet pulling him towards her.

Their faces grew closer and closer together but before their lips could meet she suddenly jerked away

"No. no. no."

"What's wrong?"

"I have to leave now."

"El, are you okay?"

Mike could see something was troubling her as she grew more and more anxious.

"I have to go."

Then using her powers she proceeded to float down from the Ferris Wheel.

"El! Wait! El!" Mike called from above

She heard him along with the confused bystanders who saw her mysterious flight. She couldn't turn back though. She ran as fast as she could.

"Have to save him" She mumbled wiping blood from her nose

She made her way through the crowds of people as she heard screams coming from the distance

"No."

She spotted Dustin carrying Will, with Lucas alongside them "Wake up Will! Man please wake up!"

Eleven caught up with them "We have to go"

"Go where?! Will can't even move. We have to call 911!" Lucas yelled

"No. We need to go now"

"She seems pretty serious Lucas, We should probably listen to her!"

"Listen to her?! Why should we listen to her? She barely knows Will!"

"She saved him last time didn't she?!" Dustin replied following Eleven with Will in his arms

Lucas ran after them "UGHHHHH"

They made it to the bike rack outside of the fair

Lucas glared at El "Great going. How is Will gonna ride his bike since he's like this?"

She pointed to Dustin's supercomm "Call Hopper"

As Lucas called Hopper to pick them up, she looked over at Will. Dustin had laid him down, using his own jacket as a pillow for Will so he wouldn't have to lie directly against the cold ground.

His face was pale and his breathing was slow.

El always sensed there was something wrong with Will but she didn't exactly know what. It was now becoming more clear to her.

Everything was beginning to tie together, but she thought she'd have more time before this happened. When Will fell into unconsciousness.. she knew because she felt it. It was a strange feeling, but somehow and in some way it was like her and Will were connected.

She touched his skin and for that split moment in time, The Upside Down surrounded them. Monster like shrieks filled the darkness. She became frightened, and backed away quickly from Will and that's when everything went back to normal.

El knew what this was. Oh she knew exactly what this was and that's what scared her the most.

This was the rebirthing.


	6. Chapter 6

As Mike exited the ferris wheel, he pushed through the crowd "El? Where are you!?" he yelled

He saw no sign of her, or any of his other friends for that matter

He scanned the crowd thoroughly, "Lucas? Dustin? Will?..

Anyone?"...

but with no luck he gave up.

"The guys probably went back home, and maybe Eleven just wasn't ready" He thought.

A defeated expression crept upon his face as he stared at the ground, sluggishly walking out of the fair

"Maybe we're better off as friends, if she even still wants to be that. Ugh, she probably didn't mean what I thought she meant. I ruined everything, I'm such a loser."

* * *

"What happened?!" Hopper yelled racing down the street in his pick up

"I don't know! one minute he's fine, the next minute he's throwing up some weird crap, then out of nowhere he passes out!" Lucas answered from the bed of the truck where the three of them accompanied Will

Eleven slowly nodded her head "Littles"

"What the?" replied Dustin gripping tightly to the truck as it bumped up and down

Hopper eyed the girl from his rear view mirror "Eleven in order to help Will you have to tell us everything you know, okay.."

She nodded again. "The littles want out"

Lucas furrowed his brow "What the heck are littles?"

Suddenly Hopper understood "Babies!.. Oh no that thing laid babies!"

"What thing? The demogorgon? But I thought El killed it?!"

The truck suddenly came to a halt in front of Hopper's place. He rushed to the back of his truck and picked up Will in his arms.

Dustin spoke again "Hop, but the Demogorgon is dead right?, RIGHT?'

As they ran into his house Hopper paced back and forth lighting a cigarette "Not before it could do some serious damage"

"What do you mean?" Lucas questioned

"When Joyce and I went to go rescue Will, we saw something attached to his mouth making it's way inside him. We quickly took it out of him and we thought everything was okay, but apparently that's not the case."

Lucas grew disgusted "So the demogorgon was actually a she and laid eggs in him?"

Hopper puffed a cloud of smoke, frantically pacing "El what do we do?"

* * *

Mike stared blankly at his ceiling lost in a sea of thoughts

"Maybe I should call her"

He shook his head "Wait.. no, no, that's too pushy"

"Hmm.. maybe I should apologize to her?"

"I don't even know what I'd be apologizing for though?"

"Sorry that I'm a complete idiot and just assumed that you liked me back"

He slapped his palm to his forehead "Ugh.. what was I thinking"

He tossed back and forth in his bed doing his best to decode her actions

"Hold on, did she even get home safely? I know she doesn't know the town very well yet"

"No, I shouldn't have let her leave alone at night"

"Okay okay.. calm down, she's probably fine"

"Like she has super mind powers and stuff, she can take care of herself"

He looked over at his alarm clock, it read 10pm

"But... I'll just go quickly check just in case"


End file.
